New York, New York

I love New York. I am quite aware that Jenny started her blog post the exact same way, but there’s simply no other way to express more precisely how I feel about the city. I’ve been living and working here for a few weeks now (sorry for the late blog post), discovering new aspects of the city on a daily basis, and yet, still, I would never say I’ve even seen as much as a third of what this place has to offer. Let’s give you a breakdown of what happened in the last couple of weeks.

View on Manhattan (from Bushwick)

I spent my first week at a hostel in Brooklyn, looking for a permanent place to stay. I knew that New York was going to be expensive, in terms of rent and other living expenses, but I hadn't thought that it was going to be THIS expensive. It’s virtually impossible to find anything below $600, if you a) want a room with a window b) don’t feel like “helping out” in the household c) don’t want to live in New Jersey or d) don’t want to share your room with one or even two strangers for about four months. Well, I eventually found a room for a decent price around Brooklyn College, but do, however, have to live with certain tradeoffs. But I decided these tradeoffs were worth it if I could spend the money I save on rent on other, funnier things. And boy, it’s worth it!

As I had spent the first week on finding an apartment and a little bit of sightseeing, my internship started in the following week. My internship is with a PR firm, called Spector & Associates. Their office is located in Downtown Manhattan, right by Wall Street and the NYSE, and only 35 minutes away (by train of course) from my place. My firm’s client base consists of American defense companies and a few local businesses. I had to sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement), so I can’t really talk about what exactly I do, but so far I’ve been enjoying it! I do a lot of research for our clients, draft press releases, take care of social media posts for the Museum of Public Relations (the firm’s president founded it), and do so many other things. My opinion and input is always valued and my other co-workers and interns are all very nice, so I’m quite happy with my decision to accept this position!

The Governor's Ball

Apart from work, I’ve experienced so many things that I impossibly could all cover in the framework of this blog post. I barely spend time at home, after a weekend I often feel like I need another two days off, just to get some rest. Two weeks ago I’ve been to Governor’s Ball Festival, an annual festival on Randall’s Island, an absolutely invaluable experience and so worth the money. The weekend after I’ve been to Bushwick Open Studios 2015, where many artists in the Bushwick neighborhood (the streets are full of great murals!) invite people to their studios to see their work. Four days ago, I saw Damien Rice at a concert at Prospect Park. On Friday, I got to hear a free concert from the New York Philharmonic, also at Prospect Park. Yesterday I’ve been to the Central Park to see Jungle (also for free) on the SummerStage. In the next blog post, I’ll cover one of those a little more in detail, I promise!

Murals in Bushwick